Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

While standing the check out line, I picked up a Southern Recipes magazine to look for ideas to bake desserts for our Christmas Eve dinner we are hosting. I came across quite a few that I will be trying but one stuck out to me the most because we have already been making them except without the chocolate chips.

The past few weeks Don, my brother-in-law, has been baking oatmeal cranberry bars. He got the original recipe off the Quaker Oats Old Fashion container. For our dinner, I knew we should try to combine both recipes to create a perfect Christmas dessert. The recipe makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Ingredients:
1 stick of butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups Quaker Oats Old Fashioned (uncooked)
1 cup cranberries
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy.
2. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
3. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.
4. Add oats, cranberries and chocolate chips; mix well.
5. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
6. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookies sheets; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.
7. Best when served with a glass of milk (store tightly covered).

These cookies looked so delicious, we could not wait until Christmas Eve to try them out.

What desserts do you like to indulge on for Christmastime?

How many different varieties of desserts do you serve?

Read the rest of the story »

stormieariel

2 Comments

Monday, December 22, 2014

Christmas DIY Holiday

DIY Branchlers

Posted by stormieariel

Last week while reading the blogs I follow, I came across Jenna Sue's 5 days of Holiday DIY's. On Day 1 she showed a tutorial for branchlers and provided free printables. I immediately printed out one of the printables and placed it above my kitchen cabinets in place of the NOEL sign. I also started storming up ideas to create the branchlers.

We Anthony and my brother-in-law, Don, recently trimmed down one of the trees in our front yard so we have had branches in our backyard for a few weeks already. The only thing I had to buy was the plaque which was only a few dollars at Wal-Mart. I did not get to get pictures of the steps because I am a horrible blogger. So I will do my best to walk you through our steps for the most part however you can also refer to Jenna Sue's tutorial which is what we followed for the foundation of the project.

The first thing Don did was remove the the smaller branches off our main pieces to give it more of an antler look. Once he had the shape I liked, he began removing the bark by using a small knife; he also sliced the bottom using a handheld saw to have a flat surface to mount on the plaque. Don finished the branchlers off with sand paper to smooth it out and Polycrylic clear semi-gloss.

As for the plaque, we simply stained the front and back with one coat of dark walnut stain. You do not have to stain the back since no one can see it but I chose to to have a more finished look overall.

After the stain was dry, I attached a sawtooth picture hanger to the back.

Lastly, we attached the branchlers to the plaque with regular nails using a hammer.

I love how the branchlers look in our home and I think it was the perfect touch for Christmastime although I do plan to keep them out year round.

Have you completed any DIY projects for the holidays?

Do you have antlers out for Christmas or all year long?

Linking up with: Remodelaholic, McCall Manor, Thrifty Decor Chick

Read the rest of the story »

stormieariel

0 Comments

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Christmas Holiday Home

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Posted by stormieariel

After showing our display holder, I decided I would show off our Christmas tree as well. Every year putting up the Christmas tree is a great reminder of God's loving mercy for us. We take this reminder a step further by hanging tags on our tree with some of the different names of God.

I must say this personalized touch is my favorite thing to put on the tree. We are able to reread these names every year and reflect on these names to understand who God is. Another personal touch to our tree is the vintage glass ornaments Babcia gifted us with last year. I love vintage and antique decor and was excited to receive all these from my grandmother.

The last personal touch to our tree is random ornaments Anthony and I pick out every year. We will go to the store and pick out an ornament each that represents us in some way.